Update

We will be taking a break until November 2, 2010. Midterms. And halloween.

Crake the Skye – Mastadon

Why I Chose It

It's one of those albums I think I'm suppose to know....

Live Blog

Oblivion - Slow start, changed to a weird faster riff. Palm muting galore. Haven't heard that in a while. His voice sounds like Godsmack's. WTF a guitar solo? haven't heard one of those for a while. it's good too. 

Divinations - wow, the guitar intro is pretty sick. and I like this drumming. weird distorted riff at 2:19ish is cool. I like this solo coming on too.

Quintessence - the lyrics aren't too intricate or anything, but I like them. They have a cool brevity to them. The drumming highlights key parts in the song. I like the cowbell. I like the breakdown around 4:45. It's well disguised too.

The Czar - This 10 minutes better be awesome. I believe it can be, for Between the Buried and Me do that all the time. Slow burner, like the piano at the end. Good song. Didn't get boring.

Ghost of Karelia - It's not boring. It's just not remarkable, at least on first listen. Though I think somewhere I read, "It's a grower and not a shower". 

Crack the Skye - vocals are different here. weird vocal effects around 3:54. I like them. 

The Last Baron - 13 minute epic, here we go. Starts slower. picks up at 4 minutes. Cool guitar riff at 7:00. "I guess they would say that we could set this world ablaze". 9:27 has a acoustic guitar harmonize with the guitars. I like it. The solo at 11:27 is also pretty cool. It seems to pick up energy for the big finish.

Write Up

Um, it was good. It was sludge metal. I liked it. The guitars were pretty impressive. And the drumming is superb. It's just....not all the impressive to me. I'm sure the lyrics are good. And I'm sure if I listened more, I would like more stuff.

I just...was sorta bored through the whole thing. 

Would I Listen Again?

Probably not.

New Junk Aesthetic – Every Time I Die

Why I Chose It

Elias really likes this band. And I like this music taste.

Song Impressions

Roman Holiday -Has a pretty cool riff for the whole song. The vocals are interesting.

The Marvelous Slut - Here it goes. It's much faster now and I like the guitar work here. "Why do I give myself away?". short song.

Who Invented The Russian Soldier - More fast, southern sounding hardcore. 

Wanderlust - cool riff at the beginning. different vocals here. I like his changing from singing to yelling.

For The Record - "God knows I've longed to feel something but now's not the time." Pretty good song.

White Smoke - The guitars sound similar to what they have sounded like this whole time. It's good, don't get my wrong, but it's very hard to pick things out of the noise. really chugs at the end. like it.

Turtles All The Way Down - I really like the name for this song. Cool riffing at the beginning. 

Organ Grinder - "All the world's a cage, and we are just animals". I like the way that is sung. Cool background singing. cool breakdown at 3:23.

Host Disorder - cool screams at :59. He sounds like He Is Legend here in song. Not a problem, by any means.

One Quarter Of A Revelation - It's getting back to fast, short songs with intense guitar work. Like the drumming. I can feel the passion from his vocals. I like the breakdown at the end of the song.

The Sweet Life - "Ain't nothing gonna break my stride, ain't nothing gonna slow me down". I like this song

Buffalo 666 - good song. can't tell you anything unique about it.

Goddamn Kids These Days - Ending doesn't let up. More fast, furious southern metal. Good ending.

Write Up

I like He Is Legend. I am listening to another one of their CDs for this project, but I really dig their CD "I Am Hollywood". I also really dig Memphis May Fire, so I think it's fair to say I like southern-ish sounding metal. And this is no different. This CD is fast, loud, angry and most importantly, consistent. It's good the whole way through. Now, they don't really try to reinvent to wheel or the breakdown here or anything, so I can't say that anything really STANDS out. But, I can tell you that if you listen to this CD, and you like this kind of music, you'll not be disappointed.

Probably the most distinguishing feature of the band is Keith Buckley's voice. It's not the same traditional  scream that you would here from other metalcore bands. It's a throaty yell (different than Architects) and it serves the music perfectly. The second best part of the band are the guitars. They do follow a pretty predictable riff pattern, but they meld very nicely with Buckley's voice. Buckely also has the ability to sing rather well, and he uses it to good effect. 

Would I Listen Again?

Yes. It's a very solid album.

Party for the Grown and Sexy – You, Me and Everyone We Know

Live Blog

Livin' th' Dream - wow this is poppy pop punk. Say Anything type pop punk. I love it. Great opening song.

I'd Be More Interested If You Were Already Spoken For - More poppy emo pop punk. Reminds of All Time Low and Say Anything together almost. I think All Time Low is better though. But this is pretty good. "Cross yyyyooooour fingerssssss and hope he doesn't wait up for you"

Do it Again! You're Not Making Me Want to Touch You! - "They're shouting "have another!" ". His voice here sounds like Panic and the Disco. I love it. "Shut Up and Dance!!". Great faux-solo. More happy/ angsty lyrics. perfect. 

The Press War - His voice here almost sounds like old Fall Out Boy too. Idk, it's like a mash up of all the good parts of pop punk. "there's just one thing he'll forget to mention/ they're taking sides as you find your ride / dry your tears, at least you'll leave with your pride"

Dirty Laundry - Ok, these lyrics aren't that different from Circa Survive's. But god damn,  its so much better. The instruments are not as good, but the songs are better. Because I believe this guy. I know he is honest and really feeling what he sings. "Things are gonna be different now you see/ And add to all this dirty laundry you left me"

...Because I Spit Hot Fire - The screams half way through sound like Brand New. Probably the worst song here, but it's still not too bad.

The Rent is Due - Nice guitar riff at the beginning. His voice is great too.
One of the best choruses of the CD: "So make it a point tosay you miss me / and tell all of your friends / of the boy from which your accent comes / oh wont you hold it, against me / for knowing the words/ what you say to make your heartbeat stop". And the double bass hits during it. Oh man. pop punk heaven. Then the guitar solo build up around 2:30. Then the gang vocals during the chorus at the end. Oh GOD!

Carolina Heat - Jesus I love this song. The generic slow song at the end of the song, but it's done soo well. And then it builds up perfectly. This song is sad. and emo.

You just convinced me to write this

 it's for the greater good 

cos i'd rather be great than good

they say the carolina heat

isnt something that keeping a cool head can beat

but don't discount their winter winds

and all the cold shoulders that the slightest draft lets in

but with empty stomachs and hungry eyes 

our only choice was to swallow pride

but i guess you just ate better than the rest

Man I love this song.

Write Up

Wow. Just wow. Sometimes pop punk just really surprises me. I didn't know that I could really be impressed anymore by anyone since I already have Fall Out Boy, Reliant k and blink 182. Yet in the past year, I've picked up so many amazing pop punk acts: Four Year Strong, All Time Low, The Wonder Years, and Motion City Soundtrack. And now, I've found another. YMAEWK has taken their own spin on pop punk and even though it's not too different from everyone else's take on it, they manage to nail it. They're lyrics have a certain cleverness too them, making them fun and different, but still easy to figure out. They're instrumentation is varied enough but it's not really the highlight of the album. 

And Carolina Heat is just a fantastic song. Really is.

Would I Listen Again?

DUH

Juturna- Circa Survive

Why I Chose It

Cause my roommate Even really likes them. And Kearny did too. Another one of those CDs I'm suppose to like. Or at least know.

Live Blog

Holding Someone's Hair Back - Anthony Green's voice is the best part of this band. Just like Jonny Craig is of Emarosa. But Green's lyrics are certainly better than Craig's. Not to say that I like them more though. They all have this odd, 3rd person perspective to them. Not like he's singing to someone, rather about them in a narrator's/ storyteller's point of view. I'm not sure I like it. 

Act Appalled - I don't know. It sounded like more Circa Survive.

Wish Resign - The guitars create a very tense atmosphere. They have some pretty cool riffs but they're hard to pick out sometimes. They're too buried in noise. Green's voice sounds nice, sure. But it doesn't sound like it has passion. 

The Glorious Nosebleed - 1:47 has a nice calm part. 

In Fear and Faith - It's good. But it just lacks energy. I'm also distracted right now. This is kinda boring. Maybe if I stopped and listened I'd like it. But isn't music suppose to hook me in?

The Great Golden Baby - It's good. 

Stop The Fuckin' Car - I know this song. "this operation's been abandoned once again" is sung in an annoying way? I think I can't quite put my finger on it but I don't like it. The guitar's are good enough. I think I need more time listening to really pick out good parts?

We're All Thieves - It's got a nice breakdown in the middle. The drums sound like jazz actually. A very light, etheral atmosphere. Green's voice sorta interwinds with the music.

Oh, Hello - Best guitar riff on the CD. Really good and energetic. This song has the most heart behind it of any on the CD. 

Always Getting What You Want - Another slower pace song. Not bad, but nothing special

Meet Me in Montauk - I found out this song is a reference to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind, so I sorta automatically like it. It's just the generic slow song at the end of the song but it ends on a weird note.

Write Up

I never agreed to be kind to every CD I listen to during these 30 days. I just wanted to broaden my musical horizons and that's what I'm doing. I'm finding out that Circa Survive, is only ok. In no way do I think they are bad. They're not. They're just....generic. And boring. Anthony Green may have a nice voice, but I don't hear him use it to great effect. Jonny Craig's "Tailored Sheets!!!" at the very beginning of his first CD with Emarosa has more heart, passion and energy than anything found on this CD. It sounds like Green is sorta indifferent to what he's singing about. The guitars are good, but they don't really make up for his lack of passion. The best riff on the CD is at the beginning of "Oh, Hello".

Overall, a competent CD. I'm sure if I listened more I'd pick up on the subtitles on the guitar work and the drumming and Anthony's signing. But for now, upon first listen, I am not impressed.

Would I Listen Again?

I'd have to if I wanted to like it.

Doppleganger – The Fall of Troy

Why I Chose It

Damn it. I wrote a whole thing out about this and yet somehow, it all just deleted. Luckily, it saved my live blog portion of it, but I don't want to write a whole thing again. I don't care about this that much. So let me say this: 

I picked it cause I liked them in guitar hero3. And Michael Kearny likes it.

Live Blog

I Just Got This Symphony Going - The intro is some pretty weird guitar. I like the screaming. But his clean vocals are just accompanied by such weird discordant chords. "SCREAM OUT MY NAME!!". I like the lyrics too. They rhyme. And they're just well crafted. Cool breakdown with 15 seconds left.

Act One, Scene One - I always like references to theater. I like his vocals more than I thought I would. I like the breakdown/ guitar solo about halfway through. The lyrics are pretty violent sounding though. I like the chill breakdown too. Makes it feel almost like prog rock.

F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X. - Great fucking song. I'm familiar with this one already and I know its really good. The guitar in the beginning is really cool. Then the scream after they sing "I don't wanna see the day" of "Come Running Home!" is great. I also really like the way he screams "rewind and rewind and rewind". The solo is also very good.

Mouths like Sindwinder Missiles - I like the opening screams. The guitar effect at 2:08 ish. really cool. I like the lyrics of this one too. More of being upset with someone. But it's done well. The solo at the end is pretty neat too. 

The Hol[]y Tape - I don't know. It's pretty good. More great soloing. I like the breakdown thing at the end too. Good screams. The calm part at the end is pretty nice too. 

Laces Out, Dan! - I like the guitar squeal at the beginning. I also like the way he screams, "Wash your hands of me!/ I don't care anymore!!!/ You wanna play these games!?/ I wanna wipe/That smile off of your face!!".

We Better Learn To Hotwire a Uterus - OK, what? What is this title? I like the guitar riff change in the middle of the song.

Whacko Jacko Steals The Elephant Man’s Bones - cool riff at about 2:26. Ends with a really cool instrumental part before ending it with some screaming. Good song.

Tom Waits - an intense song. Shorter and with more aggression. 

Macaulay McCulkin - The long ending song. Good instrumentation. The way it breaks down in the middle is pretty cool as well. 6:00 in, it changes and gets pretty good. Not that it wasn't good before, but it's good now too.

Write Up

Read the top. I deleted my write up by accident and I'm too lazy to write it again. So I'll be brief.

It was good. His voice carries the band, but the band is no slouch. They all play their instruments well, even though there are only 3 of them. The breakdowns give the feeling of prog rock and the normal section feel of hardcore. 

Overall, worth a listen. 

Would I Listen Again?

Eventually

The Fire- Senses Fail

Why I Chose It

Cause Senses Fail is one of my overall favorite bands ever. And this was coming out. And I got it early. I'm really really hoping Buddy Nielsen works his beautiful, emo magic again.

Live Blog

The Fire - "It's okay to feel lost, it just means you're alive". Sang so catchily. The guitars swirl again. Buddy's voice relies a lot more on a...manly side of him. It's not as whiny, cause he's grown up too. But he can still scream. "I just want to feel alive".

Saint Anthony - Sounds like Still Searching "Streets". But it's still good. "But now all I see is the face between the moonlight waxing". I like the guitars in this song. I love their use of gang vocals too. No screams in this one. Sorta a happier song, but it's still sad.

New Years Eve - No screaming in the last song? It begins this one. We can almost tell Buddy is getting really into hardcore music here. Gang screams? Is that even a thing? Please...no. I like the solo in this one. 

Safe House - More, sad, resigned emo music. You get the feeling of worthlessness. 

Coward - Starts with some pretty tortured scream of "I blame myself". He has a regular delivery, then he pauses and, off tempo, says "you fucking coward!". It's pretty cool. I like the songs with heavier screaming like this one. 

Landslide - "I need to start living because my life is passing by". Man I can relate. "New Jersey has become the new Atlantis, spawning new romantics". Is that good or not, I can't tell. This is a slower one.

Heading West - Faster one, but this one sounds more resolved. Sounds like he wants to take control of his life and fix it. "If you can't change yourself, change your scenery". 

Lifeboats - This is the intense song. Buddy would make a good hardcore singer. Probably the best song so far. "What do you do when you've got nothing left? Give up give up! and hope for the best". "What the point of life if all I want is out?"

Nero - Clean singing. I don't know the lyrics, so I can't really remark on what he's saying...but it's sounding a lot like the cleaner parts of the rest of the album. I mean, I like it. It's just...really similar. 

Irish Eyes - I like the guitars at the beginning. I also like the chorus. "I have to lose it all, if I wanna be free". "I can't lose something I never had". 

Hold On - Feels like an ending song. "Am I just lightning lacking thunder?". "I've got to let this go."" I take a final breath, breathe it in my lungs, because everything I've done has made my numb". 

Write Up

So, I never have liked Senses Fail's CDs as they come out. They need to grow on me. I didn't like Still Searching that much when it came out, but now I think it's amazing. Life is not a Waiting Room was nonsense to me until after I broke up with my girlfriend. Something in my life needs to happen for me to really attach to it. All the songs on this CD are about 3 minutes long. Buddy was never really about musically complex things, so this really isn't that big a deal. Just, maybe some variety. It seems to me they are really feeling losing Heath, their old guitarist. In Still Searching, the guitars are one of my favorite parts. 

This CD is, competent, upon first listen. But Senses Fail hasn't steered me wrong in the past. So I'll listen again. and again. and again.

Would I listen again?

Are you not reading?

Axe to Fall – Converge

Why I Chose It

Jane Doe is a landmark album, and I wanted to give Converge's new stuff a spin.

Live Blog

Dark Horse - Great bass intro. The guitar riff is really cool sounding. The vocals at the chorus are really cool. Jacob seems to have a different scream than he had in Jane Doe. Or, at least he uses a different one more. The breakdown is really cool. The drumming is tight and fast.

Reap What You Sow - The intro guitar is cool. I can hear the vocals, but they're incoherent. They're pretty cool I suppose. I like guitar solo and the drumming during the solo is awesome. I'm appreciating this riff more. 

Axe to Fall - This comes out of nowhere. Just Jacob's scream, blasting onto the scene. And the instrumentals accompany the chaos. The song breaks down, like the axe falling on our heads.

Effigy - Another track that just came out of nowhere. Short and very intense, though not as big of a sound. The gang vocals in front of the solo are pretty cool. Then the riff after is also very neat. 

Worms Will Feed / Rats Will Feast - Finally, a break in the action. High gain guitars slowly open up this song. Screams carry this slow burner of a song. These lyrics are just hatred. They're about a person who is poisonous to everyone. I like the weird breakdown in the song. It almost sounds like an acoustic guitar, but with a slight twinge.

Wishing Well - The guitar wailing is pretty cool in the beginning. And the guitar riff at the beginning is pretty sweet. I like the lyrics in this one. It has that "we're gonna get you" tone to it. "We are the echoes in the well".

Damages - All of a sudden, a clean guitar palm muted starts this song. Then it builds perfectly into something sinister sounding, but then sorta disappoints. But it stays built up and just palm mutes its way through lyrics about something destroying the town this guy is in. Or something.

Losing Battle - Again, rolls right out the bat with a really good drum opening. It sounds like your going fast downhill. The guitar riff picks up early on and is really cool. More lyrics about things getting destroyed and him fighting valiantly. For what? To who?

Dead Beat - More fast, tense drumming. The guitars are slower here. Jacob has some different vocals in the beginning before it launches back into the bullet train that is Converge: driving guitars, fast drumming and screams. There's a nice call and response section with vocals and guitars. Lyrics are about a person who wounds people in his life

Cutter - The CD doesn't stop, just launches in again. There's a guitar stop and start at about :15 and :31. Really intense guitar chugging at 1:27. "No way out!"

Slave Driver - like the guitars at :46 and onward. The bass line during the breakdown is pretty sick too. I think the lyrics are about someone growing out of somewhere oppressive. Somewhere where he doesn't belong anymore. He also seems to be leaving early, when he's not ready. Or after he's had a long struggle before he leaves.

Cruel Bloom - Piano and acoustic guitars start this song. It sounds western. Almost even like Murder by Death. It feels like a song that would be played when walking across the desert. I think its about people growing up into people they don't want to be. They are cruelly matured. It picks up at 3:00

Wretched World - The 7:00 ender. Starts out pretty slow. A sad, slow song. The singing sounds like lamenting. The theme of the album is inevitable death, so I think this is the end of the line for this person. He is cursing the horrible place where he exists. He resigns, as the guitars and the drums fade out. "Shattered Art as time won't turn"

Write Up

Wow. Just, this album is a roller coaster. If a roller coaster started off at 100mph and didn't slow down until right at the end. Jane Doe was an intense ride, but it had a pretty wide variety of sounds. This one doesn't really take prisoners, save for the song "Worms Will Feed / Rats Will Feast ". Jacob Bannan and crew construct a sonic assualt that doesn't leave a lot of room for breathing. The guitars play very well off each other, harmonizing in very cool and effective ways throughout the CD. The drumming is amazing. It's fast, tight and emphasizes perfect parts of the song. 

What I did not expect is how easy Jacob's lyrics are to interpret. I mean, maybe it's all just a feeling that I have. Maybe how I interpreted them is wrong. But having an over arching theme of the album helps a lot in the regard. Overall, this CD is great. I'm glad I listened

Would I Listen Again?

Yes!

Post – Nothing – Japandriods

 Why I Chose It

Um, the people on 4chan like it.

Live Blog

The Boys Are Leaving Town - Overdriven guitar. Second guitar coming in is happy sounding. These vocals are rough. But I like the obvious reference to that corny song "The Boys Are Back In Town".I like the guitar solo. "Will we find our way back home?"

Young Hearts Spark Fire - "You can keep tomorrow. After tonight we're not gonna need it". A very happy and upbeat feeling song. Youthful rebellion is probably the best way to describe it. "I don't wanna worrying about dying. I just wanna worry about sunshine girls." Get up and live your life.

Wet Hair - The song is about just a girl. Attraction. A fling. "Let's get to France So we can french kiss some french girls". Overdriven guitars that have just very basic riffs that have a very light feeling to them. The drumming is very good. 

Rockers East Vancouver - Its sounds like noise pop when they use stop and start guitars. That maybe what they're going for. The lyrics area bout growing up and moving out of your hometown. You want to leave, but at the same time, it's sad. You're going to miss your youth and the times you had there, but its over. The solo conveys a pretty specific feeling of resignation to it.

Heart Sweats - Nice title. Everyone knows what a heart sweat is and what it means. This song makes heavy use of repetition of phrases. But this music is pretty repetitious. Same sorta patterns over and over. The solo is even the same set of 4 notes, 4 times. But it's what the music is. The drums in this song have a tribal feeling about them. The bass line here is interesting. 

Crazy/ Forever - the intro guitar riff is pretty dancy feeling. I can dig it. Only 3 lines. Songs benefit a lot by being brief in their lyrical content sometimes. I like this song. The whole thing just goes on for a long time but in a good way. It's fun to just listen to them play. You can hear the emotion coming through the instrumentals. 

Sovereignty - this song isn't as vocally abrasive as the other ones. It sounds softer, more intimate. The lyrics are about running away with a girl. About being alone with someone out in the world. Leaving everything behind and just going after it. It's another good song

I Quit Girls - Nice title. Who needs them anyway, Mr. "I just a whole CD about them". An odd feeling ending song. He clearly feels an aversion to them at the same time he spends all his time thinking about them. He's saying "they torture us, and we keep coming back for more. You know what, I'm done with all of it. What a waste of time." Well maybe you can keep that promise, but I doubt it. The guitars have a pretty catchy hook in this song. 

Write Up

I didn't really know what to expect when I put this CD on. I had seen on 4chan a bunch of times and I decided that sometimes, people one 4chan have some good suggestions. In this case, yes it was worth the listen. I think the way I would describe Japandriods is shoegaze mixed in with noise pop. It's faster than My Bloody Valentine, but a little most atmospheric feeling than Sleigh Bells, though it contains the latter's energy. The band conveys a very youthful sound, with lyrics about girls and partying perpetuating this image. It's clear they are entranced by girls, yet don't know how to deal with them. At the end, he just wants to give up. It's just not worth the effort.

But I can tell you something that is worth the effort: listening to this album. It's only 35 minutes. Lyrical brevity is something Japandriods excels at. The album doesn't overstay its welcome. Just like the relationships they mention in the songs, they are passionate, violent affairs, then just end

Would I Listen Again

Yes

How I Got Over – The Roots

Why I Chose It

Daniel told me to

Live Blog

A Piece of Light - standard intro track. nice relaxing beat though.

Walk Alone - Piano in the beat is a nice touch. Flow is good. There's a feeling like the beat is going to pick it up. And you expect the piano to come in at certain times, but it doesn't. It's well done. The chorus is good. The second rapper has a weird voice. 

Dear God 2.0 - Very minimalist intro. This isn't rap. It's hip hop. It's not meant to sell records or make people dance. It's art. I like this word play, and of course his flow. "If everything is made in China, are we Chinese?/ And why do haters separate us like we siamese?"

Radio Daze  - I like how it flowed into the next song. Again, a nod your head to the beat song. I like the cymbal crashes. good song.

Now Or Never - Bongos lol. Faster beat and a faster flow. It's done well, again. These aren't the usual rap lyrics. They are self reflexive and introspective. It's different. "I gotta get my shit together. It's now or never". Is that happy resolution?

How I Got Over - I like the organ in the back. I like the faster beat again. This song has more confidence  than the other ones. The guitar in the back is cool too. 

The Day - Um. Another good one. This girl's part for the chorus is kinda annoying. When she says "a clearer. vision." it bugs me. 

Right On - I like the "hit it!" in the beginning. calm beat again. "a lot of people counting on me, kinda like a digit". very nice. STS has a good rap in this song.  

Doin It Again - "Snare roll" intro is pretty entertaining. This song is pretty good. 

The Fire - More Powerful than the other songs. John Legend does that I guess. I like this song a lot.

Web 20/20 -  Just a straight spit. minimal beat. Straight flow. The aggressiveness is much more present this time around. The beat is still really good though. It's different, not just drum and bass.

Hustla - I like the weird voice auto-tune intro thing. "They say life's a bitch, but it's only one life to live". 

Write Up

Maybe I'm doing this whole thing wrong. So far, of the 5 CDs I've listened to, 4 of them have been primarily lyric driven CDs. Their power and uniqueness comes mostly from the lyrics. On The Dutchess and the Duke, the lyrics were slow enough that I could understand them. And they were pretty simple and didn't contain a lot of metaphor, which is the problem I encountered with Radiohead and Bright Eyes. The Roots present a similar problem. Hip Hop is very lyric driven and while the beat drives the song a lot of the time. There isn't a lot of variation they do. I mean, with the genre they're trying to be apart of,  there's not much one can do. You can't add a lot of sirens, or any sort of similar party tricks into the songs. If they're trying to make a serious CD, you can't really even use anything silly to make the songs stand out.

Now, that being said, I need to listen to this CD more. I liked most of the beats and the flows are really good. The wordplay and the themes of the songs would make themselves more evident once you have time to spend on the CD. 

Would I listen Again?

Yea....

Sunrise/Sunset - Dutchess and the Duke

Why I Chose It

Daniel told me to.

Live Blog

Hands - I like the guitar coming in. The solo is pretty good. I also like this guy's vocals. I like the background organ too. The harmonies are pretty good too.

Scorpio - More upbeat than the last one. I like the sad cello in the right ear. Western feeling. Reminds me of Murder by Death, in a good way. Guitar bridge at 1:44 is cool. I like vocal harmony, again. It's got a folk feeling in the vocals. "I feel fine, the sky is blue, the sun is shining", but I don't really believe it. "I don't have to kill myself to feel alive". "I'm a long long way from you"

Let It Die - I like the rhythm and guitar progression. "Please please, it's alright. Let it die. Let it Die (Let it die)". I always like call and response. I also like good guitar solos. They fit the song. The girl's voice to respond it really well done.

Living This Life - The sirens at the beginning in the faint background are a nice touch. "If I'm on fire, why am I so cold?". All around good song.

Sunrise/Sunset - Girl has come out to lead the vocals. Her voice is flatter than one would expect, but it lends itself to being more authentic. I like the backing "aaa"s from the male voice. They're flat just like the vocals. The piano is pretty interesting. I like the solo after it too.

Never Had a Chance - "If you take all you need, what's the make you come back for more?". "Coulda got fucked up together, coulda lived and died together, all alone". Sad song.

I Don't Feel Anything - This title is depressing. "Baby, when I look into your eyes, I don't feel anything". Wow. This is such a sad song. "I never asked you for your love".  Good song, but so depressing.

New Shadow - Johnny Cash feeling guitar riff. Vocals are close to Cash too, though could never be mistaken for him. New girl? New sorrow? More depressing lyrics.

When You Leave My Arms - Girl vocals. Sad sad sad. "I see it in your eyes, you don't belong to me when you leave my arms". Oh man, girls singing about boys is almost more powerful, because it almost makes things seem worse if they're happening to someone else. I can just imagine a girl singing that about me, and it hurts.

The River - Man, this just continues to break my heart. It's so sad. Everything about the instrumentals just scream helplessness and sorrow. "I just laid down and died". Man, relationships are rough. 

Write Up

Wow, what a depressing CD. At about 3/4ths of the way through the CD I realized that it's sorta a concept CD. It's the sunrise and sunset on their relationships. The first half is the good part of the relationship. When it's new and exciting. It's different. It's changing. It's fun. Then, at the middle of the CD at the title track, it changes. It goes to describing the decline of the relationship. The sadness and the hurt that comes with the fall of it. It's really sad, but it's something that everyone can relate to. It's not handled in a childish way (Sky Eats Airplane's "you're the only one who's ever loved me!" comes to mind). Muisically, the CD draws a lot from folk and country influences. The organ is utilized as well as a number of other instruments. But the focus is on the acoustic guitar and the vocals. 

I like the CD. It's sad, it's depressing, its beautiful, its relatable. 

Would I listen again?

If I want something really sad.

Zombie EP – Devil Wears Prada

Why I Chose It

Well, I really like Devil Wears Prada. I love their CD "With Roots above and Branches Below". I really like "Plagues". The members may be dumb as nails. But they know how to making some really good music. I haven't had the time to give this some real time, so I thought I'd include it. Do a genre I understand, you know?

Live Blog

Escape - Brutal intro.The rain at the beginning sets the scene nicely. The "God" growl is pretty neat. They really aren't taking any prisoners. Just straight metalcore. Guitars that don't do anything complicated, but sound good nonetheless. There are the clean vocals. Nice contrast, although I'm not really fooled. I understand what the music is. Really slow breakdown at 3:20. kinda cool. I wonder what tuning they're using. Ending guitar riff is kinda cool. Chainsaw lead into the next song is well done.

Anatomy- The synth at the beginning is cool. And the "Oh!" at :20. First breakdown, 1 minute in. Deep growls. Br00tal, which I say in the best, most ironic way. I like that it's all about Zombies. It sounds corny. But if anyone can do an EP about Zombies, it's The Devil Wears Prada. 

Outnumbered - News intro. This just makes the Zombie thing more real. It wasn't suppose to be subtle though. Piano at 1:05 is a nice touch to break up the breakdown. I like the backing screams. The clean vocals and screams harmony is cool. Synth break at 2:07 is cheap and awesome. The guitar riff at 3:07 is cool. Gang vocals! Always one of my favorite things. 

Revive - "Science has become a child's game" is sang catchily. I like the guitars here at :44. They're all hammers and pull offs, done well. Piano at 1:09 is cool. I like this clean section from 1:10 to 1:30. At 1:44 it drops really well. Then I like the electronica element after it. More cool electronica. "We cannot restore. We cannot recover. All is lost in the flood of the risen dead". The piano ending is done well. Zombie noises at the end are done well too. 

Survivor - Pretty standard metalcore intro. Broken up at :53. Feels like exploring or hiding. Cool bass at 1:47. Very literal lyrics, little metaphor, it's a narrative. Like the double bass at 3:08. Ends nicely too. "I will never see through this nightmare."

Write Up

I may be a little biased. I like Devil Wears Prada already. I like this CD. Like I said, if anyone can get away with making a Zombie EP all about Zombies, it's the Devil Wears Prada. They made this a complete album, all about Zombies. They didn't try and muddle it up with metaphors or songs that were vaguely about zombies. It was all about them. About living in that world, about dealing with the aftermath. It was good. The genre isn't a very wide genre and not much can be done inside the realm of metalcore. It's almost a one trick pony. TDWP does inject their own special brand of stuff in there, namely the synth. Now, it's a pretty standard part of any metalcore band. But back in 2005, when they wrote "Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord", it was fresh. It's still good now. It helps separate them from their peers and separates the music too. We're spared from breakdown after bridge after chorus of similar sounding things. 

The instrumentation is done well here. Like I said, there's not much that can be done, but TDWP does it well. The drums use double bass when appropriate, the bass somehow comes out and the guitars don't do anything overly flashy. This is a primarily vocals driven genre and to do anything intricate would distract and detract from the music. And, it's own length saves it. At 22 minutes, there's not much to get bored of. It's over quickly. They know what they're doing.

Would I Listen Again?

Yea.

Cassadaga – Bright Eyes

Why I Chose It

I like that song "First day of my life"from "I'm wide Awake, It's Morning". But I figure Conor Oberest probably has some more things to say, so I'm just going to jump into this one. I hope it's not too boring and another lyric heavy CD, thought I have a feeling it is.

Live Blog

Clairaudients (Kill Or Be Killed) - Long weird intro. Impending doooom. "Don't give up hope. Cassadanga is just a premonition of where you're going". It's got a western feel to it. Like a sad country song. "It's kill or be killed". Spoken word outro. 

Four Winds - Straight folk band. Like the intro. The girl's harmonizing voice is nice. The violin is pretty superb in the bridge. Oh man, I like the Yeats reference. "sum of man, slouching towards bethlehem". It's pretty good.

If The Brakeman Turns My Way - Oh man. This is sad. He's not very happy. The organ in the background is cool around 1:36. God. Too much meaning. This feels like a song from the south. Like Louisiana. 

Hot Knives - Overdriven guitar intro, kinda cool. Wow, Conner, you're a pretty sad guy. "I've been used, I've been fucked. So what?". Use of orchestra around 2:40 is interesting. Like the outro too. 

Make a Plan To Love Me - Okay. Worst name ever. This...is...too much. It's...way cheesy. It's not as bad  as I would think. But it sounds like I'm watching Cinderella. And I'm in some really happy scene. It's almost obnoxious. 

Soul Singer In A Session Band - First line is the name of the song? What does that say about the song? Desperate? He uses a lots of metaphors. And I can't tell if they mean anything. Or if he's just writing nonsense. Maybe it's all suppose to mean something and I'm just too dense to get it. I don't know. The instrumentation still has a very southern feel to it. 

Classic Cars - Still sounds like I'm stuck between two houses on the swamp.  Except when he says "if I get outta California". Strong organ."Saying, "Everything is a cycle, you’ve got to let it come to youAnd when it does, you will know what to do"Without even knowing I guess I took her advice. Painted her front door it seemed a suitable goodbye. It’s not that often but I think of her sometimes. Just something quaint, a couple ships in the night""

Middleman- This is pretty good instrumentation. I think this is a fiddle. I can't be sure. I like the vocal harmony during the chorus. The whole thing has a good rhythm to it.  One of the better tracks here. Changed the direction of the CD a little. Like it.

Cleanse Song - Oh. That happened. It was happy.

No One Would Riot For Less - Slow. Liked the choir vocal backing. Very depressing lyrics. The world is ending and I just want you. It's almost touching. 

Coat Check Dream Song - Bongos? I guess it's about the end of the world. I'm getting lost here. I'm starting to get bored of the CD. Very odd song. Weird metaphors. I can't process them all in one sitting so quickly. It's difficult.

I Must Belong Somewhere - This starts like a country song. I don't know. It's saying to leave things aside. Kinda feels like the album is ending. Hopeful ending. I like it. Getting distracted.

Lime Tree - Real slow ending. It's....nice. Harmonizing with some girl. It sounds good. And it's sad. Conner Oberst is sad. Very sad. 

Write Up

Well. Honestly. I don't listen to a lot of Indie music. It's lost on me for the most part. I don't have the right mindset I guess. It's rewarding to decode and figure out what he means, I suppose. Like Poetry. Only that's a lot of work. And I want my music to be fun. Where I can sing along. I like it to excite me. This music doesn't excite me. 

That being said, it was a good CD. He's a very good writer and the lyrics he writes are usually very personal and intricate. They use clever metaphors to better explain his meaning. I get it. The instruments on the album are extremely varied as well. He uses all kinds of strings and percussion to give his music a very atmospheric feel to it. Most of them come off sounding like they were from the south of the US. Some change it up. But what I was not expecting is that he has much more of a band than I expected from just his single "First Day of my Life". I expect that if I listen to this CD more, I would understand more. I would take his songs more personally and I would come to appreciate the deep tapestry he has weaved here. However, this isn't a review. It's a look into my initial listening to the CD. Deeper than just first impressions I hope...

Would I Listen Again?

I don't know. Maybe when I grow up

Amnesiac – Radiohead

Why I Chose It

I like Kid A, Ok Computer and In Rainbows. I wanted to get another Radiohead album under my belt and I've heard this is their best. It's supposedly takes the best parts of OK Computer and Kid A. We'll see.

Live Blog Section

Packt like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box - Calm intro. I can hear the Kid A influence here. I like the way the electronica bounces from one side to another. "Get off our case". Like the outro too. This could be confused "Everything in It's right Place". It's very similar because of how it opens the album.

Pyramid Song- Piano intro. It's okay. Hopefully it builds into something. Thom Yorke's signature vocals are at it again. Irregular drums at 2:10. Intentional, obviously. Intriguing. "nothing to fear." Nice ending at 4:10ish. Another slow song.

Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors- Like the intro. Weird vocals at :19. I like this beat. I like the minimalist lyrics. It almost sounds like the Gladys from portal. Really cool pause at 2:16. Best track so far.

You and Whose Army? - More Thom Yorke vocals. standard repeating of the same lines over and over. Like the pickup at 1:55.

I Might Be Wrong- Like the opening guitar riff. Nice to see Greenwood finally. Not annoying vocals either. "Have yourself a good time, it's nothing at all". Weird background guitar pinched harmonics(or extreme palm muting) is cool around 3:30. Like the breakdown and ending electronica.

Knives Out- A much more traditional sounding Radiohead song. A song about cannibalism? "knives out" is a great phrase. 

Morning Bell/ Amnesiac-  a much happier feel than normal. like the organ at 2:55. subtly to the right.

Dollars and Cents - ok. its starting to sound the same as the rest of the album. I understand it's different, but Yorke has done this whole crooning thing for a while. Hoooooooooooold noooooooote. This song has much more lyrics than the other songs, thankfully. I like the rounds their doing at the end.

Hunting Bears - I like the opening guitars. okay, i guess it's an instrumental. still like it. 

Like Spinning Plates - I've had experience with this one. good ol' Radon. I really like this song. The backwards concept is really cool. 

Life In a Glass House- Piano is nice. The flute and sax really make this feel different. Almost sad. But all this just sounds like a march. Especially when the drums just have a low cymbal crash with the piano. Ends nicely though. Good ending song. Especially the final despair of "someone's listening in". It almost makes the whole CD feel like a waste, which is intentional and desired.

Write Up Portion

            Alright, I like Kid A. I like the first couple of songs on OK Computer. I also really like In Rainbows. However. In regards to this album. I don't really know how I feel. Although, Radiohead is one of those bands that are incomplete without knowing the lyrics. The lyrics give the album power and meaning. Without it, I can tell you, it's kinda boring. Yes, I May Be Wrong's guitar riff is catchy. And Like Spinning Plates is a really cool concept. But the majority of the album is just slow melodic electronica with Thom Yorke siiiiiingiiiinng something or another. I under that where he holds the notes probably has some significance. Again, I'm at a handicap because I don't know the lyrics. 

            Maybe I just don't get Radiohead. I mean, I can't really see this being played at a concert and having it be any fun. Bring Me the Horizon is fun. Fun all around. Maybe that's what I require. Radiohead isn't fun. National Anthem is fun. I May Be Wrong is fun. 15 step is fun. Amnesiac. is not fun. I'm sorry. 

Would I listen again?

Probably

The List

13th Amnesiac – Radiohead
14th Cassadaga – Bright Eyes
15th Zombie EP – Devil Wears Prada
16th Sunrise/Sunset - Dutchess and the Duke
17th How I Got Over – The Roots
18th Post – Nothing – Japandriods
19th Axe to Fall – Converge

20th The Fire- Senses Fail
21st Doppleganger – The Fall of Troy
22nd Junutra- Circa Survive
23rd Party for the Grown and Sexy – You, Me and Everyone We Know
24th New Junk Aesthetic – Every Time I Die
25th Crake the Skye – Mastadon
26th Art Damage- Fear Before the March of Flames

27th Relationship of Command - At the Drive In
28th Visitor – Dodos
29th Tommy – The Who
30th Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd
31st Congratulations – MGMT
1st Louder Now – Taking Back Sunday
2nd Diary – Sunny Day Real Estate

3rd The City Sleeps in Flames – Scary Kids Scaring Kids
4th The Blueprint – Jay Z
5th Suck Out the Poison – He is Legend
6th Oh My God, Charlie Darwin – The Low Anthem
7th Neon Bible – The Arcade Fire
8th Enter the Wu-Tang – Wu Tang Clan
9th Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? – Of Montreal

10th Tiger and the Duke - The Sound of Animals Fighting
11th Rubber Soul – The Beatles

new experiment

So I was lying in bed last night and an idea came to me. They always say you should practice your writing everyday. And I always fear I'm not listening to enough new music. So, my thoughts jumped to listening to a new album one day for everyday in October. But its too late for that. So my plan now is to do 30 days of a new album. Then I will write my impressions of the album here.

I'm going to try and stick to CDs I've got no experience with. The one that just stands out to me is Fear Before. I want to listen to their self titled. And maybe I'll listen to interpol too. Hopefully this broadens my musical horizons as well as helps improve my writing.

There Is Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret

Gah, my phone can't 'compose' only 'edit html'. Oh well. So, Scott Joplin bored me, so I wrote this.

So, I've played the new Bring Me the Horizon CD  over and over. I could write a whole track by track analysis if I wanted. It's really good. Almost every track is really amazing. They all sound different enough, and fit well together. Listening to it all the way through does not give the audience that all too familiar feeling of listening to the same song for the duration of an album (*cough*) Whitechapel's new CD (*cough*). There is a Hell doesn't fall into that trap, breaking up the usual sonic assault with slower and more melodic passages. Oli's electronic influence is clearly evident here, with sections like at the end of 'Anthem' or the song 'Memorial'.

Not to say that's the only thing keeping this album from sounding the same. The strongest section of the album are the three songs 'Home Sweet Hole', 'Alligator Blood', and 'Visions'. These three are aggressive, loud and have really catchy choruses. They don't have a break in between and you can easily tell the difference between the songs.

Suicide Season's best moment were the first two tracks. The best part happens when you're reaching the end of "The Comedown" and you know "Chelsea Smile" is about to come on. And as awesome as "Comedown" is, you know "Chelsea Smile" is the better song. But that doesn't stop the appreciation of either one. They create a passage of sound that you want to be immersed all at once. You want it to keep going and also be in the same spot. This kind of momentum that Bring Me The Horizon creates is here in Hell too. The momentum built from "Home" to "Visions" is great, but the better song is "Crucify Me". This song may be the best song BMTH has written to date. The perfect blend of vocal pitch changes, electronica breakdowns, gang vocals and amazing guitar work.

Really Cool Parts of Songs:
Crucify Me- Oli's opening scream of "Crucify Me". The way he sings "I am the ocean, I am the sea". The way he does his emotitive yell of "let's keep it a secret" then death growls "No one needs to know". The call and response of "Save yourself" and then the  gang vocals of "Save your breath".  Light's chanting of "There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It". The way she pauses on "be-e-lieve me". the "Yea!" at 3:06. The electronica breakdown after Light's second chorus at 4:05. the lyrics "pray for the dead" chanted. The ending "I am the ocean, I am the sea".

Anthem- The opening guitar riff is sweet. The riff at :38. You can hear the chord changes. So sweet. "I hate to say I told you so, but fuck yea I told you so". Vocal growl at 1:30. The vocal yelp at 1:57. The riffs here at 2:00 are great. 3:05 pause. Breakdown at 3:26. Vocal growl of "a dedication to the end of everything".

It Never Ends- almost everything. Opening riff is sweet. Made even better with the synth sounding thing in the background. Then the riff at :25. Oli's call "one more foot in the coffin" with the response gang vocals "One more foot in the grave". The way he screams "thissss" after "how has it come to this?". Then "I've said it once, I've said it twice, I'll say it a thousand FUCKING times, that I'm okay, that I'm fine, that it's all just in my mind" and the background chanting at this part is amazing. The guitar riff at this part is great too. Then "You say this is suicide, I say this is a (gang vocals)war". The guitars chug and then the way he says "We're not losing the battle" and then screams "OH!", with the backing vocals.  Then it comes back and does the opening riff again, with the synth background. Then the ending "Every second, every minute, every hour every day" is really good too.

Fuck- The opening scream of "LETS FUCK". the way he screams "how do you say goodbye?" in the beginning. The held scream of "helloooo". The "let's Fuck, fuck , fuck fuck fuck" part. The guitars at 1:07. The breathing with the beeping leading into the guitars diving. the "Fuck"s at 1:50. The way he screams "hello" at 2:25. The "oh!" at 2:27. The clean vocals of "We all need to love, heart attacks waiting to happen". The duet of Josh and Oli. Oli's screams end up being the better part, but you need to have the clean part.

Don't Go- Guitars at 1:10.

Home Sweet Hole- Opening guitar riff. The way it picks up at :53. "oh shit" at 1:23. the gang vocals call and response. "Home sweet hole" at 1:45. The second "oh shit, I've done it again, I'm way too far in over my head". "yea!" at 3:05. "Home sweet hole" at 4:12.

Alligator Blood- Opening is really cool. "Let's play a game of Russian Roulette. I hold the gun, you place the bets". Guitar riff at :29. scream at :45. Drums leading up to "My Alligator Blood is starting to show". The Alligator Blood is starting to show call and response with gang vocals. 2:38-3:07 sounds like "Chelsea Smile". Matt Nichol's double bass drum kicks during the third time of the chorus "My Alligator blood is starting to show" at 3:23 and the deeper growling. yelp at 3:40. riff at 3:45. The gun sound at 4:04. "Paint the wall with my fucking brains".

Visions-Riff at :50-1:04. "All is fair!", "in love and war so they tell me!", "All is fair!". 1:36 electronic mix. "Bring out the dead" at 1:50. "I've been lying in these trenches far too long"."I never saw a thing until I shut my eyes/ never knew a thing until I lost my mind/ I would have sold my soul to know it all/ that I held the keys all this time!" at 3:15.

Blacklist- "youuuu" at :33. "With friends like you, there's no need for enemies. With friends like you there's no need for (death growl) anything".

Memorial- Good all around instrumental track.

Blessed With a Curse-

Fox and the Wolf- The opening vocals. The way it punches right out the gate. "I think I'm losing my mind". this song has the best lyrics in the whole CD. "You say you'll never be younger, than you are tonight."